SPA WATCH | Sheswai

CONVERTIBLE? CHECK. Appointment with Sonya Dakar? Check. Visit friends on the set of TV show (oh, heavenly craft service)? Check. Lunch at Le Pan Quotidien on Melrose? Check. Natural manicure in flash color? Also, check. Whenever I visit LA, the strange mix of indie culture, mainstream, kitsch and verdant dash of nature (that simply won't be pushed out by the exacting standards of civil engineers) strikes me anew. Certainly the '72 suburbs in search of a city' that Dorothy Parker describes, LA does have a distinct local flavor and, to my joy, its own little petri dish of a west coast beauty culture that's simply blooming.

Shewai is just that -- SoCal to the core. 3-free nail range and service with groovy nature-inspired graphics and an easy-going attitude. I mean, hey, they'll come to you and manicure/pedicure you at your home/hotel with their capsule collection of varnishes. 

Plus, there are great tips and recipes on the site for DIY beauty products and how to keep your manicure looking pretty. Overall, a definite LA do. Bookmark it for your next trip to LA (you do have a travel wishlist folder in your gmail, right?).

Sheswai

Pondering the accent nail

It's been called Blackberry Bling if worn on the thumbnail or simply an accent nail if on any of the other remaining digits. What is it? The act of painting one of your nails a different colour from the other four on each hand (or foot). Seen on the red carpet and at fashion week this season, it looks like the mainstream has started to accept (or at least absorb) some of the kookier nail trends being dished up over the last year. Now I'm not sure the childhood obsession with painting all your nails a different colour will resurface, but this subdued nail schizophrenia could be the way forward. And why not? You can do it with incredibly different shades/patterns or simply different weights of the same hue for a more minimalist COS-style look.

Click to read more ...

Preview CHANEL Le Vernis in Jade with a bit of pinky bling

'Love your nails. Is that the new Chanel polish?” the beauty advisor at (my latest find) L’Artisan Parfumeur on Marylebone High Street purred appreciatively. You know you’re onto something good when your manicure gets recognized. Suffice to say it’s not just any old nail varnish adorning my fingers right now, but the much-hyped Le Vernis in Jade by CHANEL, one of two colours created by Chanel makeup’s global creative director Peter Philips for Ready to Wear Autumn/Winter 09/10; the other is Jade Rose, a very pretty, almost flesh-toned pink.

Initially dubious about how minty green enamel will look against my skin, I'm a quick convert once ensconced in a beauty suite at the plush CHANEL HQ with manicurist-cum-nail blogger Sophy Robson – responsible for the lacy nails at Henry Holland. By the second coat (the first paints on quite thin), I'm lusting after this new colour like nobody’s business. “We've done pale, tanned, black skin... this colour suits everyone," says Sophy while her colleague Zaida tells me that oiling my cuticles every day will give me a much healthier looking nail (and sealing the top of the nail when applying polish will give a longer lasting, if not life-proof, manicure). Zaida finishes by applying a teensy gold CHANEL logo to my pinkie - making me feel properly bling. If you like your nail art then Hollywood Star Nails in Peckham is the place to get these mini logos. Although a recent mention on the Elle blog means the shop is currently out of stock!

If you too lust after the look of this madcap tweedy green, then get yourself on the waiting list at a CHANEL boutique or Selfridges where the limited-edition varnishes go on sale 9 October for £19 a pop. I know I’ll be taking good care of my newly polished gems... for the next few days at least!

 Written by Julia Rebaudo for www.beautywoome.com.

Update on 09.28.2009 by Jessica Teas (née Gearhart)

PS: If you don't know this brand yet, you will soon... M2M nail varnish is coming to the UK and CHANEL's manicurist-in-residence to promote Le Vernis in Jade, Sophy Robson, has been using the range for quite a while. 

There are loads of amazing nail brands coming out of the US right now: M2M, KO Knockout, Butter London, Rescue Beauty, Nubar... 

My favourite new colour is the murky, sort-of creamy green called Orbis Non Sufficit by Rescue Beauty (created by a beauty blogger, no less).

PPS: There's a certain famed British nail guru that, I think, will have a range coming out sometime in the next year as well. Can't divulge yet, but when we can...